The Sustainer of All Things

“But the God in whose hand are your life-breath and all your ways, you have not glorified.” –the prophet Daniel warning King Belshazzar, Daniel 5:23 (HCSB)

I came across a great quote from the September 25th podcast from Stand to Reason entitled, “Reality is Never Outdated.” A caller had reminded the show’s host, Greg Koukl, about an analogy that Christian Apologist, Frank Turek had once made in order to better explain how God sustains the universe. It goes something like this:

“God is to the universe, as a band is to music. The band sustains the music. When it stops playing, the music goes away. By the same token, when God stops sustaining the universe, it would stop existing.”

The prophet Daniel used this same concept, as shown above, in order to more fully impact the conscience of King Belshazzar, after he and his audience had witnessed the hand writing on the wall, which forecasted the end of his reign later that night. Paul, while addressing the Areopagus, also made the same point in order to urge the hearers to repent and to also embrace the good news about Jesus Christ…

Acts 17:28 (HCSB)
“For in Him we live and move and exist…”

It is extremely important that we (Christians) make it clear to the unbeliever that without the God which they “have not glorified,” they could not exist, nor less even deny Him.

Job was even more blunt when he responded to his accusers with a rhetorical question. Not only did he make this same point as well, but Job also reminded them about how obvious it is; that such is actually revealed through the creation itself:

Job 12:7-10 (HCSB)
“But now ask the beasts, and let them teach you; And the birds of the heavens, and let them tell you. Or speak to the earth, and let it teach you; And let the fish of the sea declare to you.
Who among all these does not know that the hand of the Lord has done this,
In whose hand is the life of every living thing,
And the breath of all mankind?”

Job’s question screams of the obvious lack of excuse that we all have regarding this notion, that God is the sustainer of all things.

Paul also used it the other way. He used it to encourage the believers in Colossae…

Colossians 1:17 (HCSB)
“He is before all things,
and by Him all things hold together.”

God’s sustaining power is both convicting and assuring. It is a great means of waking us up to the reality of who we are and who He is; whether we are evangelizing the lost, discipling the found, or just meditating on His Word.

May we all be reminded of Christ’s underpinning of reality…

Hebrews 1:3 (HCSB)
“…He (Christ) is the radiance of His glory and the exact representation of His nature, and upholds all things by the word of His power.”